7 Things the Great Copywriters Wish You Knew

We sometimes talk about web copy and content like they’re the same, but they aren’t — they complement each other, but they also serve two distinct purposes.

Copy, traditionally, is what we use to make the sale. To use Albert Lasker’s phrase, it’s salesmanship in print (or pixels). Its aim is to persuade.

Content does everything else. It attracts an audience, engages their sustained attention, demonstrates your ability to solve their problems, and paves the way for an eventual purchase.

Content marketing is the new cool kid in advertising– because the web lets us use content to accomplish so much with relatively limited resources.

But really smart content marketers know enough to steal from their more traditional copywriting brothers and sisters. Because those old school elements of persuasion will make everything in your content work better.

#1: Headlines, headlines, headlines

Copywriters know that if the headline is weak, the ad will never get read.

The same is true of your content. Put a vague, waffly, or obscure headline on the best piece of content the world has ever seen, and it still won’t get read. Even if you have a decent-sized audience, you still need to persuade them, day in and day out, to continue giving you their attention. Great headlines help with that.

Now the best headlines can’t help content that’s consistently thin and weak. But it will do a lot to increase audience engagement for quality content, as well as shares and links.

#2: Quit being so clever

Look, I get it. You wouldn’t be a writer if you didn’t have a secret love of clever wordplay.

Puns and in-jokes and linguistic play are the writer’s delight. Just realize … they may not be your audience’s delight.

Writerly craft is a good thing. Thinking carefully about language will make it clearer and more powerful, and that’s what you want. But great copywriters know that cleverness too often leads directly to audience confusion.

A dash of cleverness here and there can add seasoning, so if you do use it, use it sparingly — and never in a headline.

#3: Develop your big idea

You’re publishing information that both entertains and educates your reader — and you’re doing it in the framework of a Big Idea.

Think “1000 Songs in Your Pocket.” You’re looking for the instant communication of a desirable benefit, compressed into a memorable statement. It’s not always easy to find, but if you keep looking, it’s there.

For those of you who are members of our premium marketing community, Authority, Brian Clark and I did a workshop recently on the Big Idea — go and grab the replay for that, and study it. We also did a tagline clinic last week that takes the Big Idea and shows how it works on your site.

Don’t just be another writing or design or fashion or parenting blogger. Frame your content with a compelling Big Idea.

#4: Do your research

The best copywriters are the most tenacious researchers. Like miners, they dig, drill, dynamite, and chip until they have carloads of valuable ore. John Caples advised me once to gather seven times more interesting information than I could possibly use. ~ legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga

If you’re writing authoritative content, it only follows that you’re also an obsessive student of your topic.

Dig deeper. Scour sites like Abe for valued out-of-print books on your topic. Get beyond the “big blogs” everyone in your topic reads — go to the rare, obscure resources, especially if they’re chewy and difficult for the average reader.

Dig, drill, dynamite, and chip. Don’t just be an expert — be a dork about your topic. The depth and richness you’ll gain will show.

(Incidentally, the best Big Ideas usually come out of compulsive research — combined with some creativity and enough time to think carefully about the problem.)

#5: Find your starving crowd (then listen to them)

Notorious copywriting genius Gary Halbert liked to tell his students that the key to a successful restaurant was not location, great food, or low prices — it was the presence of a starving crowd that needed and wanted what your restaurant had to offer.

And of course, the same is true for any kind of business.

When it comes to direct marketing, the most profitable habit you can cultivate is the habit of constantly being on the lookout for groups of people (markets) who have demonstrated that they are starving (or, at least hungry) for some particular product or service. ~ Gary Halbert

Your “starving crowd” is your audience — the people who are hungry for what you have to say, in the way that you say it.

The terrific thing about building a hungry audience is you can then turn around and ask (or observe) them to find out what, specifically, they’re hungry for.

Traditional direct marketers used expensive response lists to find this out. In the online content world, we can gain a lot of that knowledge through listening to what our audiences have to say, both on our own sites and in forums or other social media.

When you know what your audience wants, you can create the perfect product or service to meet that desire. As famed ad man Bill Bernbach said:

Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it…. No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist.

Getting the product or service right is great marketing — and when you pair it with solid persuasion skills, you’ll be unstoppable.

#6. Know where you’re going

Writing direct response copy always serves a specific purpose. You’re writing to stimulate a specific behavior. If you get that behavior, you win. If you fail to get it, you lose.

The economics of content marketing allow us to experiment more, but you still want to develop an idea of what, specifically, each piece of content you create is intended to accomplish.

But drifting around and publishing “to see what happens” should be kept to a minimum.

Our Content Marketing Strategy Ebook will give you a deeper look at the goals behind different types of content. (That and 14 other useful marketing books are part of your free membership in MyCopyblogger.)

#7: Don’t be boring

Tell the truth but make truth fascinating. You know, you can’t bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it. ~ David Ogilvy

We’re fans of David Ogilvy around here, as D.O. was a longtime champion of education-based marketing.

But he knew very well that in order to make it work, you have to make that education fascinating.

I like the idea Kevin. And I’ve got a couple of window blinds clients of my own – they’re awesome.

You’re definitely onto something.

I think Sonia’s point is that advertising can’t invent a product advantage. The advertiser can suggest one, or even help the client to build one. But they can’t invent a hollow product advantage with content alone.

You can, and really good ad agencies (or smart writers like you) have a history of doing it. Mary Wells Lawrence tells a great story about convincing Braniff to paint its fleet of planes in intense rainbow colors. This was in 1965, and it instantly made the airline look cool and youthful.

But as you say — if you add the new point of distinction in, the company has to be willing to live it. Braniff had to be willing to be a cool, youthful airline, which worked well for them at the time.

Lawrence’s book A Big Life in Advertising has tons of examples of finding the big idea for brands we know well, very interesting read.

But, technically speaking, by changing the business in and of itself, you have only chosen to highlight the advantage created. You can’t create something that isn’t there, so you CREATED a new layout to the business so that then you could advertise them with the specific change in mind. Had you just simply advertised the business as such without making the actual change, then you wouldn’t have been highlighting anything, you would have been lying to the client.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that you did this, and you should continue to do this. It’s always about filling a niche. I am in my third year in college, and I love finding sites like this that help me determine what I want to do within the business world. 🙂

Some great tips, I think I am guilty of writing some very dry content! I really appreciate the advice on finding an audience, ‘Find your starving crowd – then listen to them’, which of course makes perfect sense. 🙂

Sonia,
(from the perspective of a content marketing agency)
I am so glad you highlighted RESEARCH here. So many content marketing service providers forget that truly insightful content requires LOTS of research, in any industry.

I look forward to referencing this article in my next blog about the importance of research when providing content services. Unfortunately, agencies are in a situation where they will need to be armed with articles just like this to justify the “extra” work that goes into creating truly valuable “content” for clients.

Great list, Sonia, and powerful reminders. As a long time blogger, I’m currently putting together more in-depth articles and your #4 really hit home. I tend to look for unique and undiscovered content, and you have given me some new places to look. I have fallen into the #6 trap of publishing “to see what happens,” way too much. My creative side tends to get bored, so I’m always experimenting. Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of rabbit trails. As a member of the Copyblogger community, I’ll have to download the Content Marketing eBook you talk about. A little FOCUS never hurts. 🙂

A little experimentation is great — maybe make a decision about how much “see what happens” content you publish, in the general mix. Maybe it’s 10% (it could be higher in the early days of a blog, to see what works for your audience).

The content marketing book will really help, though — it gives you a framework for the different types of content and the way they set your site up to become successful.

Yep, research is always handy. Lots of it, too, not just perusing over Wikipedia like it’s some amazingly accurate resource. Actually read some books on the subject, as lots of online articles on subjects can be spun.

Be visual is something else I’d rely on – the internet is all about aesthetics, and most people on it aren’t ardent readers wanting to be lectured. It’s a skimming world, so bright colourful content can draw them in. Innit, as the trendy folk say.

Its true I skim a lot through articles, headings and look at subheadings as well before I decide if I continue to read on or not. Spending a lot of time on an article that doesn’t get read is a paralyzing fear of mine.

I am trying to see how this can apply to an incentive for an email optin landing page for my audience. I mean it has to have a good opening but also needs to get read as well. I guess thats where #6 know where your going comes in well 🙂

I totally agree with the fundamental of perceptive presentation; making the image your copy conveys match the desires of your audience. It’s selling the people what they want to buy. Even more beautiful is selling them to the point that they didn’t realize they wanted to buy.

I love the mining reference too. A lot of good work goes into writing copy. If you have good facts, good resourceful information you’re going to get a great bang for your buck.

Yeah. Headlines I have come to discover is one of the most important if not most important part of an article because if it doesn’t get read it doesn’t matter if the article is crap or great it just won’t get any attention.

Jon Morrows headline hacks is another great example I think he used an old style copy of “who else wants (insert)…” as one example. I’d say that one example is onw of the most useful.

I have two swipes files: one is in Evernote and the other is a folder. I’ve collected many samples in the last few months. The pieces, ranging from magazine ads to direct mail, help me with my copywriting. Plus, if I need a bit of inspiration, I review my files and feel energized.

My favorite old-style copy tip that works brilliantly in the new world of content and social media is from Leo Burnett, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” Copywriting doesn’t have to be complicated. 🙂

All seven of these points allude to something less tangible, yet well worth developing. That is to say, trust. Now getting someone to trust you isn’t easy. I met a chap on a train a while ago, and on asking him his work he flinched from me! Now I might be a fifty something divorcee, but I’m not that dangerous.

Okay, so perhaps I am?

Anyway this reaction puzzled me, because normal people don’t react this way. A banker might bluff, a politician offer you something you don’t need, that sort of aversion behaviour – but outright fear? There was only one answer.

So I took a risk and asked him “Are you a marketer?”

A little face appeared from under his metaphorical shell, nodded briefly – and on hearing that I was too, warmed considerably. In the space of three minutes I’d managed to establish a rapport with someone who was truly terrified of the reputation that preceded him.

The issue here is to trust the person you’re speaking with – or your reader. That means you need to take a risk of some kind, and in doing so, you’ll establish a bond far more swiftly.

Great article Sonia, thank you! I’m grateful for my early experience in direct marketing. Learning from Adland legends like these (nearly 20 years ago, yikes!) helped craft my copywriting skills which are so relevant to writing across today’s digital channels. Point #3 on research is a critical one. It mystifies me how some of the “content creators” out there can offer “well-researched” blog posts for $50-$100. I will spend anything from 6-12 hours completing a well-researched, well-crafted original blog post or article and I can’t compete with those prices. Am I just too slow for today’s market?

These are great tactics for writing great content. My favorite one is, “Even if you have a decent-sized audience, you still need to persuade them, day in and day out, to continue giving you their attention.”

I often forget the things I already have (or in other words: I tend to take them for granted). This doesn’t only apply in business relationships, but in all relationships in life.

Thanks for the reminder that a relationship is a continuous effort – not just an email subscribe or a post comment.

Nice read Sonia! I agree with everything you have said. A good headline is essential because your audience use it to decide whether or not to read your article. Though crafting catchy headlines is considered an art, but there are few simple tricks to concoct a grabby headline.

I also want to add a point here: When developing your web copy keep in mind that it should persuade your readers to take a specific action.

Maybe you’d like them to download an eBook/ sign up for a newsletter/like you on Facebook etc. but be clear what you would like to achieve out of it. Focus on one action at a time otherwise you will confuse your audience and they will not take the desired action.

Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed the article and more importantly, it’s refreshing to read all the comments made.

I think the most awesome copy tip I got was from The Robert Collier Letter Book. He basically sold a product that he didn’t invent yet by designing the perfect DM letter, and then got himself busy creating the product when the cash came rolling in!

Proven Concept and a Self-funded project =).

Simply put – Copywriting is one of the most Powerful Business Development tools.

Yes, Brian, great stories are persuasive. Great advertising is persuasive. Great marketing of all kinds has an objective.

But content marketing is not advertising. And there’s a reason to point out what may seem like a semantic difference: I’ve never met a client who didn’t want his content to read like sales copy. While Sonia suggests content marketers “steal” from copywriters, she is inadvertently encouraging writers to make more direct pitches in their blogs.

Clients often insist — and writers may acquiesce based on Sonia’s direct pitch in her piece — that every post include a pitch for a product or service.

I’ve seen the pitch for the Copybloggers’ ebook on headline writing before, and I don’t think it belongs here as a direct appeal to “smart content marketers” any more than a blog written for a furniture store should include a pitch to “check out our new leather sofas.”

Before writers learn to say “yes” to copywriting techniques, they should learn to say “no” to disguising its tactics as content. Yes, at KOTAW Content Marketing we tell — and sell — stories. And we also sell products and services through story-driven copy. But we don’t confuse content marketing with advertising.

I applaud your success and will accept at face value your best wishes for mine. I’m sharing my interpretation of the new digital landscape as shaped by Hummingbird and backed by 25 years of experience in journalism, advertising and branding.

When my clients insist on pitches I just put them in. I stopped arguing with them or trying to convince them awhile ago. If they don’t want to listen to what I know, screw ’em. I’ll just take their money instead.

I don’t know, I think it’s still a pretty good tactic.

Why on earth are you still complaining about their blog posts? Start writing yours today!

I’m not sure about what you meant by “still complaining”, Greg. I never complained, simply acted on the “Speak Your Mind” CTA for this blog.

There’s a place for ads in a newspaper — next to an article. There’s a place for a CTA in a blog — at the end of a blog or in some other clearly defined space.

There’s a place for persuasion everywhere. But if a blog looks like a blog but reads like sales copy, it crosses a line that makes me uncomfortable. Where’s the value in content marketing if it’s no different than pitch-y copy?

If a client asks me to insert a sales pitch into a blog, Greg, I don’t say “screw em” and take their money. I say no. Saying no to bad ideas is one of the best services I provide clients.

Greg, you suggested I write my own blog. I do write a blog on my website and invite you to check it out.

And, thank you, I am enjoying great success at KOTAW, launched in June 2013.

Excellent. And I started doing what we now call “content marketing” in 1999, and this publication has been teaching it for 8 years. And we’ve built a multi-million dollar business out of practicing what we preach.

@Katherine … perhaps it’s a matter of how you want to frame the call to action in a content marketing piece. This CTA doesn’t always have to be a pitch. It can be a Follow me on Twitter … Read more about this topic here … or whatever.

But content marketing inherently is about marketing – and that means information with a strict purpose. If I’m already reading about writing headlines and I see a link about crafting better headline faster – it’s not a pitch. It’s additional information I’m already interested in – since the context remains relevant to my initial read.

One more thought, if I may … if our content doesn’t fire up the reader to want to learn more about our topic – hence the need for some sort of call to action to the next step – then, to my direct response writer’s mind – we’ve failed both the reader and the client.

Thank you, Roberta, for your thoughts. I’m not surprised that a direct response writer would side with Sonia on this. But I agree with much of what you say.

How you frame a call to action matters. Content should fire up a reader. It must have a purpose. Calls to action are critical.

Sonia’s line directing people to the ebook was a pitch. She didn’t offer the ebook as a helpful addition to her post. In the very first of seven tips, she said “Smart content marketers will go grab our free eBook.”

What she wrote is good copywriting. But it is pitch-y and in no way the same as an end-of-blog CTA that says “Follow me on Twitter.” Or “if you’d like to learn more about writing effective headlines, check out our ebook.”

Excellent article. I love the points about headlines, an overlooked point by amateur/novice writers approaching copywriting with just slightly less than an expert voice. A turned-around-headline can make them an expert on an otherwise great article. Attention grabbing, shorter headlines are more impactful than long, arduous sentences. The other point I liked was how witty may not be engaging to all clients. Unfortunately for those sad souls reading it and not liking the read, this can be true sometimes, so wit must be toned down at times.

“Be a dork about your content.” Love that. We recently had a client come in, wanting to produce high-quality and equally as high-brow posts for his website. After working one-on-one with him long enough, I began to become totally engrossed in his product and salons. That showed directly in the content I drafted for him!

Holding out for some secret magic bullet is why so many people fail. Trust me, if it works, it’s been done in some form or fashion already. It’s up to you to adapt what’s proven to work for your own situation, which makes it unique.

I agree that just holding out for magic bullet won’t work. I am just looking out for the secret ingredient that can spice up all these 7 :-). I trust what’s been done already and will definitely use it. Wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Have a wonderful day.

So true that great copywriters (and writers in general) are assiduous researchers. Simone you did some of your own to dig up these credible quotes to help make your points. Seven times as much seems excessive, but two or three makes for a good piece.

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